The Princess looked up, past the noble quibbling about some issue which hadn’t been important the first thousand times it had been raised, to the doors of the chamber which had served as the throne room for several millennia now.
Her sister stood there, mane flowing slightly in the manner natural to the reigning Diarch’s of Equestria. After so long together, no words were necessary. Now, they were both ready; it was finally time.
-
Deep beneath the vaulted halls of the royal palace, hidden from even the keenest of eyes in the Royal Guard, secreted within a labyrinthine network of forgotten tunnels, lay a chamber.
No fabrics adorned this chamber, nor wooden fixtures, for in the literal Eras between this room’s uses, nought but metals and stones could survive.
Because of this, it was decorated simply, if richly. Obsidian featured heavily, as did ruby, and glyphs of some long-dead tongue adorned the walls, inscribed in metal. It was a solemn place, the air within made heavy by the gravity of the ceremonies conducted there.
Within this arcane vault, stood four beings – the only four beings who ever visited; the alicorn rulers of Equestria. And before them, a titanic pair of doors, wrought of steel and bronze, and inlaid with what was unmistakably an Equestrian taijitu… although, as with a number of the oldest examples, it appeared to have the colours of the sisters wrong.
“Oh my gosh!” Exclaimed the youngest of the four. “Those are pre-migration designs! And this architecture – it’s Classic Platinum Dynasty! But… How can there be a Pre-Migration chamber under the capital?”
The Diarchs turned to one another, and grinned. Always the academic. The teacher stepped forward.
“You are correct. This chamber has existed for longer than Equestria. However, it has not always existed at this location. It has been enchanted, my dear student, so as to always be somewhere within the place that the Diarchs call home. However, my sister and I did not bring you here for a simple history lesson.”
Here, the other sister spoke; “Nay, mine sister and I have decided that the time has come for us to go.”
The younger alicorns looked slightly confused. The final one chose to break the silence.
“But, Aunty, you have had vacations before – you did not require us to meet you here then…” She trailed off, leaving the question unspoken.
“You misunderstand. We will not be returning from this sojourn.”
The two heirs were stunned. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Equestria without the Sisters? Unthinkable!
“But what – what about Equestria?! The ponies won’t stand for it! And how will we rule without your help?”
“All will be well. The papers will complain, for a time, but soon we shall be forgotten. As for how you could rule?” Here she couldn’t help but smirk, just a little. “What do you think you have been doing this past millennium? My sister and I have kept up with our public duties, but all the actual matters of state have been handled by you two. We haven’t had to fix a problem for you, or tell you something you did not already know, in at least eight hundred years. Equestria is safe in your hooves.”
The two heirs looked away, embarrassed. They hadn’t noticed the gradual decline of actual advice from their mentors – they had been bouncing ideas off them for so long, they hadn’t realised when their elders stopped submitting ideas of their own.
“But… we can still send you a message if we have to, right?”
The rulers faces fell.
“I am afraid not, my faithful student. My sister and I are not going on vacation. We are not abdicating the throne. You will succeed us in the manner typical of titles. By inheritance.”
She hated to do this, she truly did. But this was the only way. Looking into the face of her heir and successor, she saw the exact moment when realisation dawned, and both their hearts broke.
With tears in their eyes, the heirs looked to their respective mentors for some hint of a prank. There was none.
“Princess! You can’t! You- You’re the Princess!”
The old Princess smiled her typical maternal smile. Just out of sight, she could hear her sister having a similar conversation with her niece.
“I have lived, so very long. I have seen mountains rise, and fall to dust. I have seen entire continents consumed by the sea. In that time, I have done so much. I taught the Diamond Dogs how to govern themselves. I saved the Sea Ponies from the Maelstrom.” Here, her voice grew slightly melancholy, “I found love on the beaches of Zebrica. And through it all, I did my duty to Equestria, as Princess, and defended my subjects from any who threatened them. Have I not earned my rest? So many of my little ponies have gone before me. So many. I knew some of them. Only the tiniest of fractions, yet they number in the hundreds. A few, a rare few, I even called friend. Should I really live long enough to forget them?”
The ancient pony shook herself, hugged her student close beneath a wing, unminding of the tears that soaked her coat, and carried on with a smile.
“And then, less than three thousand years ago, I met a wonderful little filly. Anything she turned her mind to, she accomplished. Not just accomplished - _excelled_ at. I took her under my wing, and even then, I could barely teach fast enough! And as much as I taught her, she also taught me. Watching her grow was a privilege. And my, how she did grow! Challenge after challenge, I threw her way – and even the ones that were unfair, that were supposed to show how a pony reacts to defeat, she managed to overcome with flying colours.
I can’t begin to tell you how proud I was of her. And then? Then she turned herself into an alicorn.
Did you not notice? The summer lasted a whole extra week! I couldn’t help it – if I didn’t celebrate somehow, I think I might have burst!
But now she doesn’t need me any more. And I am stopping her from growing further. So I have to go, so she can be all that she can be. Because otherwise she will never stop trying to prove herself to me, and I won’t be able to tell her that she never had to.”
The old Princess gave her student a quick squeeze, and stepped away. Her student didn’t move to stop her, just let her go, with tears running down her face.
“Come now, Tierce Shade, please don’t mope. You will see me again in time. But only when you’re ready.”
The Sisters stepped away from their students and heirs, towards the doors. Briefly, they hesitated.
Twilight looked to Cadance as they placed a reassuring wing on each other’s back. Then, they turned, and trotted into eternity.